Using French

Around the

Home

MASTER THESE SKILLS

•

Using devoir around the house

•

Getting help around the house and

in a store

•

Understanding and forming the

present subjunctive

•

Using the subjunctive

•

Offering encouragement

In this chapter you’ll learn how to express

school and household obligations by

using the verb

devoir (to have to) or the

subjunctive (a mood that shows need,

necessity, or obligation). You’ll also learn

how to encourage someone to pursue

a course of action.

HOUSE AND HOME

In order to refer to the different rooms and parts of a house that might

need attention, you’ll need the following vocabulary:

apartment l’appartement (m.) garden le jardin

apartment l’immeuble (m.) ground floor le rez-de-chaussée

building

attic le grenier hallway le couloir

balcony le balcon house la maison

basement le sous-sol kitchen la cuisine

bathroom la salle de bains laundry room la buanderie

bedroom la chambre lawn la pelouse

closet le placard living room le salon

den le living /le séjour owner le/la propriétaire

door la porte room la pièce/la salle

elevator l’ascenseur (m.) shower la douche

floor le plancher stairs l’escalier (m.)

floor (story) l’étage (m.) toilets les toilettes (f.)

garage le garage window la fenêtre

NOTE

In France and other French-speaking countries, the toilets (les toilettes) are

generally in a room that is separate from the bathing facilities (la salle de

bains), which explains the need for both words. Le bidet is generally found

next to the toilet. It is used for intimate personal hygiene.

Naturally, within each room of a home there is furniture and there are

appliances that may also need your attention:

armchair le fauteuil

bed le lit

chair la chaise

clock l’horloge (f.)/la pendule

dresser la commode

furniture les meubles

lamp la lampe

oven le four

refrigerator le réfrigérateur/le frigo

rug le tapis

sofa le canapé/le divan/le sofa

stove la cuisinière

table la table

television la télévision

wardrobe l’armoire (f.)

washing machine la machine à laver

CHORES

Among the most common household chores are those listed here:

clean the house nettoyer la maison

cook cuisiner

do the dishes faire la vaisselle

do the housework faire le ménage

do the laundry faire la lessive

go shopping faire les courses

make the beds faire les lits

mow the lawn tondre la pelouse

prepare the meal préparer le repas

set the table mettre le couvert

throw out the garbage vider les ordures/la poubelle

vacuum passer l’aspirateur

Learn the names of the food stores, as well as other establishments that

you might want to visit while in a French-speaking country, and the

names of some items you might purchase there:

STORE/PRODUCT FRENCH STORE FRENCH PRODUCT

bakery/bread la boulangerie le pain

bookstore/books la librairie les livres

butcher shop/meat la boucherie la viande

fish store/fish la poissonnerie le poisson

florist/flowers (chez) le fleuriste les fleurs (f.)

fruit store/fruits la fruiterie les fruits (m.)

grocery/vegetables l’épicerie (f.) les légumes (m.)

liquor store/wines (chez) le marchand les vins (m.) et

de vin spiritueux (m.)

newsstand/newspapers le kiosque à journaux les journaux (m.)

pastry shop/cakes la pâtisserie les gâteaux (m.)

pharmacy/medicine la pharmacie les médicaments

tobacconist/tobacco le bureau de tabac le tabac

NOTE

Many of the names of stores end in -erie. Drop this ending and add

-(i)er (for the masculine) and -(i)ère (for the feminine) to get the name

of the person who works in the store: le boulanger, la boulangère;

l’épicier, l’épicière.

To express that you are going to a store, use the form of

aller

that agrees

with the subject and one of the following:

•

à + the appropriate definite article: Je vais à la crémerie. (I’m going

to the dairy.)

Allons au kiosque à journaux

. (Let’s go to the

newsstand.)

•

chez

+ the person (or business):

Je vais chez le fleuriste

. (I’m going

to the florist.)

Allons chez le boucher. (Let’s go to the butcher’s.)

GETTING HELP IN A STORE

An employee at any type of store may ask you one of these questions to

find out if you need assistance:

May I help you? Puis-je vous aider?/Vous désirez?/

Est-ce que je peux vous aider?

An appropriate answer would be:

No, thanks, I’m just browsing. Non, merci, je regarde tout simplement.

Yes, please. I would like to see . . . Oui, s’il vous plaît. Je voudrais voir . . .

Yes. I’d like to buy . . . for . . . Oui, je voudrais acheter . . . à . . .

Yes, I’m looking for . . . Oui, je cherche . . .

Yes, are there any sales? Oui, y a-t-il des soldes?

After being helped you might hear the salesperson ask:

Ce sera tout?

(Will that be all?)

Unless you need to continue with an order or explain other needs, you

should respond:

Oui, ce sera tout.

(Yes, that will be all.)

NOTE

Acheter is generally followed by à to express that the subject is buying

something for the use of another person. Acheter pour indicates that the

subject is performing an errand for another person; in other words, buying

something on behalf of that person.

J’achète un cadeau à Henri. I’m buying a gift for Henri

(to give to him).

J’achète un cadeau pour Henri. I’m buying a gift for Henri

(so he doesn’t have to shop).

DEVOIR

—TO HAVE TO

The verb

devoir

expresses what the subject should do:

je dois nous devons

tu dois vous devez

il doit elles doivent

Uses of

Devoir

Devoir

has some special uses that allow you to persuade someone to do

something when it expresses an obligation:

•

Devoir

is used primarily to express obligation:

Je dois cuisiner. I have to cook./I must cook./

I am supposed to cook.

Je devais sortir à midi. I was supposed to go out at noon.

•

Devoir

is used to express probability:

Il doit être en retard

. (He must

be late./He is probably late.)

•

The conditional of

devoir

means “ought to” or “should” and

expresses obligation:

Tu devrais faire les courses. You should go shopping./

You ought to go shopping.

Tu aurais dû faire les courses. You should have gone shopping.

•

Devoir means “to owe” when followed by a noun:

Je dois cinq dollars à Jean. I owe John five dollars.

Vous leur devez une You owe them an explanation.

explication.

NOTE

When devoir is followed by another verb, devoir is conjugated and the

second verb remains in the infinitive: Nous devons ranger le salon.

(We have to straighten the living room.)

IMPERSONAL EXPRESSIONS

Like

devoir

, the invariable impersonal expressions

il faut

+ infinitive and

il est nécessaire de

(

d’

) + infinitive are also used to express obligation:

It is necessary to water the flowers. Il faut arroser les fleurs./Il est

nécessaire d’arroser les fleurs.

You have to study to succeed. Il faut étudier pour réussir./Il est

nécessaire d’étudier pour réussir.

UNDERSTANDING AND FORMING THE

PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE

Like the conditional, the subjunctive is a mood (a form of the verb showing

the

subject’s

attitude),

not

a

tense

(a

form

of

the

verb

showing

time).

You

may

use

the

subjunctive

to

persuade

someone

to

follow

a

course

of

action

because it shows, among other things, wishing and wanting, need

and

necessity,

and

feelings

and

emotions.

The

subjunctive

is

used

much

more

frequently

in

French

than

in

English.

Because the subjunctive is not a tense, the present subjunctive can be

used to refer to actions in the present or the future. Although limited in

use, the past subjunctive refers to a completed past action.

Il est nécessaire qu’il travaille. It is necessary for him to work./

He has to work.

Il est important que tu ranges It’s important that you

le salon. straighten the living room.

Il est possible qu’elles arrivent It’s possible that they will

à l’heure. arrive on time.

The following conditions prevail if the subjunctive is to be used:

•

The sentence usually must contain two clauses with two different

subjects.

•

The clauses must be joined by que (that) or, in special instances,

by

qui

.

•

One of the clauses must show need, necessity, emotion, or doubt.

The Subjunctive of Regular Verbs

To form the present subjunctive of regular verbs, and many irregular

verbs, drop the

-ent

from the third person plural (

ils/elles

) form of the

present and add these subjunctive endings:

-ER VERBS -IR VERBS -RE VERBS

aider (to help) agir (to act) vendre (to sell)

ils aident ils agissent ils vendent

que j’aid

e

que j’agiss

e

que je vend

e

que tu aid

es

que tu agiss

es

que tu vend

es

qu’il aid

e qu’il agisse qu’il vende

que nous aid

ions

que nous agiss

ions

que nous vend

ions

que vous aid

iez

que vous agiss

iez

que vous vend

iez

qu’ils aid

ent

qu’ils agiss

ent

qu’ils vend

ent

Verbs with Two Stems

Some irregular verbs and most shoe verbs use two different stems to

form the present subjunctive:

•

The

ils

stem of the present indicative for

je

,

tu

,

il/elle/on

,

ils/elles

•

The nous form of the present indicative for nous and vous

IRREGULAR VERB

ILS

STEM

NOUS

STEM

boire (to drink) boiv- buvcroire

(to

believe)

croi- croy-

devoir (to have to) doiv- dev-

prendre (to take) prenn- prenrecevoir

(to

receive)

reçoiv- recevvenir

(to

come)

vienn- venvoir

(to

see)

voi- voy-

SHOE VERB

ILS

STEM

NOUS

STEM

man

ger

mange- mangenvo

yer

envoi- envoyach

eter

achèt- achetpréf

érer

préfèr- préfér-

app

eler

appell- appel-

NOTE

Verbs that end in -cer have no change in the subjunctive because c

followed by e or i always produces a soft sound. Note the pronunciation

of these phrases: que je commence (kuh zhuh koh-mahNs), que nous

commencions (kuh noo koh-mahN-syohN).

Verbs Irregular in the Subjunctive

Some verbs follow no rules for the formation of the subjunctive and must

be memorized. The ones that are used the most frequently are:

aller

(to go)

. . . que j’aille . . . que nous allions

. . . que tu ailles . . . que vous alliez

. . . qu’il aille . . . qu’ils aillent

vouloir

(to want)

. . . que je veuille . . . que nous voulions

. . . que tu veuilles . . . que vous vouliez

. . . qu’il veuille . . . qu’ils veuillent

faire

(to do)

. . . que je fasse . . . que nous fassions

. . . que tu fasses . . . que vous fassiez

. . . qu’il fasse . . . qu’ils fassent

146

pouvoir

(to be able to)

. . . que je puisse . . . que nous puissions

. . . que tu puisses . . . que vous puissiez

. . . qu’il puisse . . . qu’ils puissent

savoir

(to know)

. . . que je sache . . . que nous sachions

. . . que tu saches . . . que vous sachiez

. . . qu’il sache . . . qu’ils sachent

avoir

(to have)

. . . que j’aie . . . que nous ayons

. . . que tu aies . . . que vous ayez

. . . qu’il ait . . . qu’ils aient

être

(to be)

. . . que je sois . . . que nous soyons

. . . que tu sois . . . que vous soyez

. . . qu’il soit . . . qu’ils soient

Expressions of Need and Necessity

The subjunctive may be used to persuade someone of the need or necessity

to

do

something

or

to

make

requests

or

demands.

The

expressions

below

will

allow

you

to

do

this

because

they

are

typically

followed

by

the

subjunctive.

It is better that . . . Il vaut mieux que . . .

It is essential that . . . Il est essentiel que . . .

It is fitting that . . . Il convient que . . .

It is imperative that . . . Il est impératif que . . .

It is important that . . . Il est important que . . .

It is indispensable that . . . Il est indispensable que . . .

It is necessary that . . . Il est nécessaire que . . ./Il faut que . . .

It is preferable that . . . Il est préférable que . . .

It is time that . . . Il est temps que . . .

COUNTDOWN TO FRENCH

It is urgent that . . . Il est urgent que . . .

It is useful that . . . Il est utile que . . .

It is important that you go Il est important que tu ailles

to the supermarket. au supermarché.

It is urgent that he call Il est urgent qu’il téléphone

the doctor. au docteur.

The subjunctive is used more often in French than in English. Be aware

that the French subjunctive may have many different meanings in English

and usually does not allow for an exact word-for-word translation:

Il est

nécessaire que tu fasses la vaisselle.

(You have to do the dishes./It is

necessary that you do the dishes.)

In French, the subjunctive is often equivalent to an infinitive in

English:

Je voudrais que tu fasses la lessive. (I would like you to do the

laundry.)

Verbs of Wishing and Wanting

The subjunctive is used in the clause following the verbs listed below:

aimer mieux to prefer insister to insist

commander to order préférer to prefer

conseiller to advise souhaiter to wish

demander to ask suggérer to suggest

désirer to desire vouloir to want

exiger to demand

Il demande que je fasse He asks that I do the work./

le travail. He asks me to do the work.

When using the subjunctive in English, we often omit the word

that. In

French,

que

must always be used to join the two clauses:

Il est important qu’il lave It’s important he wash the car.

la voiture.

J’aime mieux que tu tondes I prefer you mow the lawn.

la pelouse.

Avoiding the Subjunctive

In all of the examples shown thus far, the verb in the dependent clause

(where the subjunctive is used) and the verb in the main clause (need,

necessity, wishing, or wanting) have different subjects. If the subjects in

both clauses are the same,

que

is omitted and the infinitive replaces the

subjunctive:

Elle voudrait que j’aille à la She would like me to go to the bakery.

boulangerie.

Elle voudrait aller à la She would like to go to the bakery.

boulangerie.

NOTE

Whenever possible, try to use devoir + infinitive rather than

the subjunctive.

THE PAST SUBJUNCTIVE

The past subjunctive expresses an action that has taken place. The past

subjunctive is formed in the same manner as other compound tenses.

Take the subjunctive form of the helping verb

avoir

or

être

and add the

past participle:

Je voulais qu’ils soient rentrés tôt

. (I wanted them to have

returned early.)

OFFERING ENCOURAGEMENT

We have seen how the subjunctive can be used to persuade someone

to follow a course of action. The best way to persuade someone to do

something, whether it be a chore or a fun activity, is to offer a bit of

encouragement.

A litte more effort! Encore un petit effort!

Don’t hesitate! N’hésitez pas!

Go for it! Allez-y!

It’s coming along! Ça vient!

Keep going! Continuez!

That’s fine! C’est bien!

You have to try! Il faut oser!

You’re almost there! Vous y êtes presque!

You’re getting there! Vous y arrivez!

NOTE

All of the phrases of encouragement can be changed to the familiar

by using tu and its corresponding verb form.

TIME’S UP!

Without referring to the chapter, see if you can tell someone that:

1. you are just browsing (in a store).

2. you’d like to buy a car for your family.

3. he/she has to listen.

4. he/she is supposed to go to the bakery.

5. he/she ought to make the beds.

6. he/she owes five dollars.

7. it is necessary to go shopping.

8. you want him/her to throw out the garbage.

9. you want to go to the bookstore.

And finally:

10. Encourage someone to do the housework.

Asking

Questions

MASTER THESE SKILLS

•

Asking yes/no questions

•

Asking for information

•

Getting around

•

Questioning new acquaintances

In this lesson you’ll learn how to ask

questions in a variety of ways. No matter

what the situation, no matter what your

needs, you’ll be able to get the information

you seek.

ASKING YES/NO QUESTIONS

The easiest questions, by far, are those that demand a simple yes or no

answer. There are four ways to obtain this information. You can use:

•

Intonation

•

The tag

n’est-ce pas

? (isn’t that so?)

•

Est-ce que

•

Inversion

Using Intonation

Questions are often asked by changing your intonation and raising your

voice at the end of a statement. In conversation, just put an imaginary

question mark at the end of your thought and speak with a rising inflec-

tion. In writing, don’t forget to insert the question mark:

Vous avez envie

d’aller au cinéma?

(Do you feel like going to the movies?)

When you speak with a rising inflection, your voice starts out lower

and gradually keeps rising until the end of the sentence. In a sentence

that states a fact, your voice rises and then lowers by the end of the

sentence.

To form a negative question, simply put

ne . . . pas around the conjugated

verb in simple and compound tenses, and when there are two

verbs:

Vous n’avez pas envie d’aller Don’t you feel like going to the movies?

au cinéma?

Tu n’as pas fait les courses? Didn’t you go shopping?

Il ne voulait pas travailler? Didn’t he want to work?

Using

N’est-ce Pas?

N’est-ce pas

? is a tag that can have a variety of meanings: “isn’t that so?,”

“right?,” “isn’t (doesn’t) he/she/it?,” “aren’t (don’t) they?,” “aren’t (don’t)

we?,” “aren’t (don’t) you?,” and so on.

N’est-ce pas

? may be placed at the

end of a statement, especially when the expected answer is yes:

Vous avez

envie d’aller au cinéma, n’est-ce pas?

(You feel like going to the movies,

don’t you?)

Using

Est-ce Que

Any statement may be turned into a question by beginning the sentence

with

est-ce que

.

Est-ce que

is invariable regardless of the form of the verb

that follows:

Est-ce que vous avez envie d’aller au cinéma?

(Do you feel

like going to the movies?)

To make the question negative, simply put

ne . . . pas around the conjugated

verb:

Est-ce que vous n’avez pas Don’t you feel like going to the movies?

envie d’aller au cinéma?

Est-ce qu’il ne voulait pas Didn’t he want to work?

travailler?

NOTE

Do not try to translate est-ce que; it has no meaning and only indicates

that a question will follow. The translated do (does) in the question is part

of the verb. Note that est-ce que becomes est-ce qu’ before a vowel or

vowel sound: Est-ce qu’il a envie d’aller au cinéma? (Does he feel like

going to the movies?)

Using Inversion

Inversion refers to reversing the word order of the subject pronoun and

the conjugated verb form in order to form a question. A hyphen is used

to join the verb to its subject pronoun.

Avoid inverting with

je. It is awkward and is very rarely used except

in the following:

ai-je . . . ? do I have . . . ?

suis-je . . . ? am I . . . ?

dois-je . . . ? must I . . . ?

puis-je . . . ? may I . . . ? (used to ask for permission)

Inversion occurs only with subject pronouns (not nouns) and conjugated

verbs. The interrogative is formed by placing the pronoun after the verb

and connecting the two words with a hyphen. Inversion takes place in all

tenses—simple and compound, with reflexive verbs, and when there are

two verbs in the sentence, as follows:

Vous allez au cinéma. Allez-vous au cinéma?

Ils sont partis à l’heure. Sont-ils partis à l’heure?

Tu voudrais sortir. Voudrais-tu sortir?

Elles se lèvent tard. Se lèvent-elles tard?

Il s’est levé tard. S’est-il levé tard?

Elle doit faire les courses. Doit-elle faire les courses?

When the third person singular (

il

or

elle

form) ends in a vowel, a -

t-

is

inserted between the verb and the subject pronoun. This is necessary to

avoid having two vowels together. This problem occurs mainly in the

present tense with verbs in the

-er family, because third person singular

forms for

-ir

and

-re

verbs end in a consonant. In the passé composé, the

helping verb

avoir

requires the -

t-

when the subject is

il

or

elle:

Elle voyage aujourd’hui. Voyage-t-elle aujourd’hui?

Elle a voyagé. A-t-elle voyagé?

Il se prépare. Se prépare-t-il?

Il s’est préparé. S’est-il préparé?

Il finit la leçon. Finit-il la leçon?

Il a fini la leçon. A-t-il fini la leçon?

Elle perd ses bagages. Perd-elle ses bagages?

Elle a perdu ses bagages. A-t-elle perdu ses bagages?

When the subject of the verb is a noun, a double-subject construction is

used: noun + verb + third person pronoun of the same gender and number

as the subject. In this case, inversion occurs with the verb and the

pronoun that corresponds to the subject:

Le garçon est français. Le garçon est-il français?

Jean et Luc ont travaillé. Jean et Luc ont-ils travaillé?

Marie a un problème. Marie a-t-elle un problème?

Les voitures se sont arrêtées. Les voitures se sont-elles arrêtées?

To make a question with inversion negative, put

ne and pas around the

inverted verb and pronoun. For reflexive verbs, remember to keep the

appropriate reflexive pronoun before the conjugated verb, from which it

may not be separated. In compound tenses, the past participle comes

after

pas:

Le garçon est-il français? Le garçon n’est-il pas français?

Voudrais-tu sortir? Ne voudrais-tu pas sortir?

A-t-elle voyagé? N’a-t-elle pas voyagé?

Se prépare-t-il? Ne se prépare-t-il pas?

Les voitures se sont-elles Les voitures ne se sont-elles pas

arrêtées? arrêtées?

Étarient-ils allés à Paris? N’étarient-ils pas allés à Paris?

INFORMATION QUESTIONS

No matter what your reason for studying French, many occasions will

arise where a simple yes/no response is inadequate. For this reason, it is

important to know how to ask for information. Interrogative adjectives,

adverbs, and pronouns will allow you to accomplish this task.

Interrogative Adjectives

The interrogative adjective

quel

(which, what) agrees in number and gender

with

the

noun

it

modifies:

MASCULINE FEMININE

Singular

quel quelle

Plural

quels quelles

Note the following about the interrogative adjective

quel

:

•

The only verb that may separate quel from its noun is être:

Quel est votre (ton) nom? What’s your name?

Quelle est votre (ton) adresse? What’s your address?

•

Quel + être

is used at the beginning of the sentence:

Quel est votre (ton) numéro What is your phone number?

de téléphone?

Quelle était la question? What was the question?

•

Quel

+ noun, when used at the beginning of the sentence, may be

followed by

est-ce que or inversion: Quel bus est-ce qu’on

prend?/Quel bus prend-on?

(Which bus do we take?)

•

Quel

+ noun may be used at the end of the sentence. This usage is

quite colloquial:

On prend quel bus?

(Which bus shall we take?/

We’re taking which bus?)

•

Quel

may be preceded by a preposition:

De quels films parlait-il? About which films was he

speaking?

Dans quel hôtel restez-vous? In which hotel are you staying?

À quelle heure sors-tu? At what time are you going out?

Interrogative Adverbs

Adverbs asking for information help you find out the facts and information

you

need:

how? comment?

how much, many? combien?

when? quand?

where (to)? où?

from where? d’où?

why? pourquoi?

What’s your name? Comment est-ce que vous vous appelez?

(How do you call yourself?) Comment vous appelez-vous?

Vous vous appelez comment?

Where are you from? D’où est-ce que vous êtes?

D’où êtes-vous?

Vous êtes d’où?

Note what happens in an inverted question when the subject is a noun:

When are the boys coming? Quand est-ce que les garçons viennent?

Quand les garçons viennent-ils?

Les garçons viennent quand?

Variable Interrogative Pronouns

If you were in a store trying to make a decision about which of two or

more items to choose, you might want to ask the salesperson which one

would be the right choice. The variable interrogative pronouns will help

you ask your questions properly:

MASCULINE FEMININE

Singular

lequel laquelle

Plural

lesquels lesquelles

Interrogative pronouns agree in number and gender with the nouns they

replace. They may be used to ask questions with

est-ce que

or inversion:

Which of these films do Lequel de ces films est-ce que tu préfères?/

you prefer? Lequel préfères-tu?

Which ones of these dresses Lesquelles de ces robes est-ce que vous

are you going to buy? allez acheter?/Lesquelles de ces robes

allez-vous acheter?

The prepositions

à

(to, in) and

de

(of, from, about) may be used before

quel

and contract as shown:

NOTE

MASCULINE FEMININE

à (singular) auquel à laquelle

à (plural) auxquels auxquelles

de (singular) duquel de laquelle

de (plural) desquels desquelles

Auxquelles de vos amies To which of your friends have you

avez-vous écrit? written?

Duquel de ces documents Which one of these documents do

avez-vous besoin? you need?

The singular or plural form of the interrogative pronoun is chosen depending

upon

whether

you

want

to

express

“which

one”

or “which ones”:

Lequel prends-tu? Which one are you taking?

Lesquels prends-tu? Which ones are you taking?

À laquelle vas-tu? To which one are you going?

Auxquelles vas-tu? To which ones are you going?

Duquel parle-t-il? About which one is he speaking?

Desquels parle-t-il? About which ones is he speaking?

Invariable Interrogative Pronouns

Invariable interrogative pronouns have only one form that does not have

to agree with the noun to which it refers. These pronouns will help you

form questions about people and things:

PEOPLE THINGS

Subject

qui? who? qu’est-ce qui? what?

Direct Object

qui? whom? que? what?

After Preposition

qui? whom? quoi? what?

The e of que is dropped before a word beginning with a vowel or vowel

sound, but the i of qui is never dropped: Qu’a-t-il cherché? (What did he

look for?); Qui a-t-il cherché? (Whom did he look for?)

These invariable interrogative pronouns are used as follows:

•

As subjects (which are followed by verbs),

qui

refers to people, and

qu’est-ce qui

refers to things. Both pronouns are followed by the

third person singular of the verb (

il

form):

Qui est tombé? Who fell?

Qu’est-ce qui est tombé? What fell?

•

As objects of the verb (usually followed by a noun or pronoun),

qui

refers to people, and

que

refers to things.

Qui

and

que

may be

followed by inversion or by

est-ce que, or they may be used colloquially

at

the

end

of

the

sentence.

In

the

latter

case,

que

becomes

quoi:

Whom are you looking for? Qui cherchez-vous?

Qui est-ce que vous cherchez?

Vous cherchez qui?

What are you looking for? Que cherchez-vous?

Qu’est-ce que vous cherchez?

Vous cherchez quoi?

•

With a noun subject, the word order after

que

is inverted:

Que cherche Richard?

(What is Richard looking for?)

•

A preposition +

qui

refers to people. A preposition +

quoi

refers to

things. Inversion or

est-ce que

may be used to form the question, or

the preposition +

qui

or

quoi

may be used colloquially at the end of

the sentence:

Whom are you thinking about? À qui pensez-vous?

À qui est-ce que vous pensez?

Vous pensez à qui?

What are you thinking about? À quoi pensez-vous?

À quoi est-ce que vous pensez?

Vous pensez à quoi?

Two interrogative expressions that will come in very handy are:

Qu’estce

que

c’est?

(What is it?) and

Qu’est-ce que c’est que cela?

(What’s that?)

NOTE

With combien, comment, où, d’où, and quand (but not with pourquoi),

when the subject is a noun, and the verb has no object, a question may be

formed by inverting the order of the subject and verb:

Comment s’appelle cet homme? What’s that man’s name?

Combien coûte cette carte? How much does this map cost?

USING

IL Y A

The verb

avoir

is used impersonally to ask and answer questions.

The expression

il y a

can mean “there is (are)” or “is (are) there?” As a

question,

il y a can be used by itself with appropriate intonation, with

est-ce que

, or with inversion:

Is there a restaurant nearby? Il y a un restaurant près d’ici?

Est-ce qu’il y a un restaurant près d’ici?

Y a-t-il un restaurant près d’ici?

Il y a

can also be used to ask a negative question:

Isn’t there a restaurant nearby? Il n’y a pas de restaurant près d’ici?

Est-ce qu’il n’y a pas de restaurant

près d’ici?

N’y a-t-il pas de restaurant près d’ici?

Use

il y a to answer the question: Il y a un restaurant près d’ici. —Il n’y

a pas de restaurant près d’ici

. (Is there a restaurant near here? —There is

not a restaurant near here.)

Il y a

is used idiomatically to ask what the problem is:

Qu’est-ce qu’il y

a?

(What’s the matter?)

ASKING FOR DIRECTIONS

You can ask for directions by using the following phrases:

Where is . . . ? Où est . . . ?/Où se trouve . . . ?

Where are . . . ? Où sont . . . ?/Où se trouvent . . . ?

Can you tell me how to get to . . . Pouvez-vous me dire comment

aller à . . .

Where is/are . . . , please? Où est/sont . . . , s’il vous plaît?

Where is the Eiffel Tower? Où est la tour Eiffel?

Où se trouve la tour Eiffel?

Pouvez-vous me dire comment

NOTE

aller à la tour Eiffel?

La tour Eiffel, s’il vous plaît.

Where is the baggage claim? Où sont les bagages, s’il vous plaît.

Où se trouvent les bagages?

Pouvez-vous me dire comment

ASKING FOR A PRICE

aller aux bagages?

Being able to ask for prices in a foreign country is always a valuable tool.

Use the following phrases when you need to know how much something

costs:

What’s the price of (a) . . . ? Quel est le prix de (d’un[e]) . . .

How much does this/that . . . cost? Il/Elle coûte combien ce/cet/

cette . . . ?

Combien coûte ce/cet/cette . . . ?

How much do these/those . . . cost? Ils/Elles coûtent combien ces . . . ?

Combien coûtent ces . . . ?

S’il vous plaît is the polite way to say “please.” To be familiar, use s’il te

plaît. Remember that all of the words in the sentence must be either

polite or familiar: S’il te plaît, peux-tu me dire comment aller au

musée?/S’il vous plaît, pouvez-vous me dire comment aller au musée?

(Can you please tell me how to get to the museum?)

QUESTIONING NEW ACQUAINTANCES

When you meet someone for the first time, there are many questions you

would like to ask to get to know that person better. Here are some of the

most common questions that can be used to get information by using the

polite or familiar verb forms:

What’s your name? Comment vous appelez-vous?/

Comment t’appelles-tu?

What is your wife’s (child’s) name? Comment s’appelle votre (ta)

femme/votre (ton) enfant?

Where are you from? Vous êtes d’où?/Tu es d’où?

What is your nationality? Quelle est votre (ta) nationalité?

What is your profession? Quel est votre (ton) métier?

How old are you? Quel âge avez-vous?/Quel âge as-tu?

How many people are in your family? Il y a combien de personnes dans

votre (ta) famille?

Where are you staying? Vous restez où?/Tu restes où?

Where do you live? Vous habitez où?/Tu habites où?

What is your address? Quelle est votre adresse?/

Quelle est ton adresse?

What is your phone number? Quel est votre numéro de téléphone?/

Quel est ton numéro de téléphone?

What is your name and address? Quelles sont vos (tes) coordonnées?

LACK OF COMMUNICATION

When you have asked a question and don’t understand the answer or

need more information, use the expressions below to help you get the

information you need.

Excuse me. Excusez-moi./Excuse-moi.

Pardon me. Pardon./Pardonnez-moi./Pardonne-moi.

I don’t understand. Je ne comprends pas.

I didn’t hear you. Je ne vous (t’)ai pas entendu.

Please repeat it. Répétez, s’il vous plaît./Répète, s’il te plaît.

Speak more slowly. Parlez (Parle) plus lentement.

What did you say? Qu’est-ce que vous avez dit?

One more time, please. Encore une fois, je vous (t’)en prie.

I’m sorry. Je regrette./Je suis désolé(e).

TIME’S UP!

Without looking back, see if you can do the following:

1. Ask a person for his/her name.

2. Ask a person for his/her address.

3. Ask a person for his/her phone number.

4. Ask where a person is from.

5. Ask a person’s age.

6. Ask which train to take.

7. Ask which one of the films someone prefers.

8. Ask a person what the matter is.

9. Ask for the price of a newspaper.

10. Say that you are sorry and that you don’t understand.